This 2017 photo from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows Ian David Long. Authorities said the Marine combat veteran opened fire Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, at a country music bar in Thousand Oaks, killing multiple people before apparently taking his own life. (California Department of Motor Vehicles via AP)

THOUSAND OAKS — Thirteen people are dead after a gunman — who has been identified — opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” Wednesday, sending hundreds fleeing in terror, including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said.

In a news conference at around 7 a.m., Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identified the alleged shooter as Ian David Long, 28, who lived in the area, and said Long was armed with a single Glock 21 handgun that had an “extended magazine” that would allow it to hold more than the standard number of 10 bullets.

The sheriff said that extended magazine is illegal in California. He does not know how many rounds that magazine can hold.

Long, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, is believed to have killed himself, Dean said, adding that a motive for the crime was not known.

U.S. Defense Department spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell says the former Marine who killed 12 people at a Southern California bar and grill received an honorable discharge.

The Marine Corps has said 28-year-old Ian David Long was deployed to Afghanistan for seven months, from Nov. 16, 2010, to June 14, 2011.

He was in the Marines from August 2008 until March 2013, serving as a machine gunner and earning the rank of corporal in August 2011.

The Marine Corps says Long earned several awards, including a Combat Action Ribbon and a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Authorities said he had no criminal record, but in April officers were called to his home, where deputies found him angry and acting irrationally. The sheriff said officers were told he might have PTSD because of his military service. A mental health specialist met with him and didn’t feel he needed to be hospitalized.

Tom Hanson, 70, who lives next door to Long and his mother, said Thursday that he called the police about six months ago when he heard “heavy-duty banging” and shouting coming from the Longs’ home.

Authorities hope a search of a gunman’s home will provide information about the motive for the mass shooting.

Long was a CSUN student who attended the school from 2013-16 and studied athletic training, a spokeswoman for the university said. He did not graduate. “On behalf of California State University, Northridge, our hearts and thoughts are with the victims, survivors, first responders and loved ones affected by the horrific massacre that occurred in Thousand Oaks last night,” CSUN President Dianne Harrison said in a statement.

An FBI official says investigators seeking the motive for the mass shooting at a Southern California bar hope evidence will allow them to paint a picture of the gunman’s frame of mind.

Paul Delacourt, assistant director of the Los Angeles field office, says the crime scene, the gunman’s home and car are being processed for evidence and interviews are being conducted.

But he says it’s premature to speculate on the motivation.

Sheriff Dean said Ian David Long first shot a security guard, other staff near the door and then patrons of the Thousand Oaks bar.

The sheriff says there’s no indication he specifically targeted employees, but he expects to learn more when a search warrant is served at Long’s home in the nearby community of Newbury Park.

Deputies and FBI agents on Thursday morning were at a modest single family home believed be Long’s in a neighborhood of houses with well-manicured lawns.

Friends hug outside Los Robles Medical Center in Thousands Oaks, California, paying tribute to Ventura Country Sheriff’s Sgt Ron Helus, killed in the shooting at the Borderline Bar in Thousands Oaks on November 08, 2018. – The gunman who killed 12 people in a crowded California country music bar has been identified as 28-year-old Ian David Long, a former Marine, the local sheriff said Thursday. The suspect, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun, was found deceased at the Borderline Bar and Grill, the scene of the shooting in the city of Thousand Oaks northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Photo by Apu Gomes / AFP) (Photo credit should read APU GOMES/AFP/Getty Images)

A group of 10 pray outside a Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousands Oaks following a mass shooting that left 13 dead, including the shooter, on Wednesday, Nov, 7, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Modesti/LA Daily News/SCNG)

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Ventura County Sheriff Sgt. Ron Helus, who died after entering the scene of a mass shooting during college night at a Thousand Oaks nightclub on Wednesday night, leaves Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center during a procession in his honor on Thursday morning, November 8, 2018. Authorities believe Ian David Long, a 28-year-old veteran, is the shooter and among the 13 dead. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

People comfort each other as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

People comfort each other as they sit near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

People comfort each other as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

People hug outside the Borderline Bar and Grill, where a mass shooting occurred on November 8, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California. At least twelve people have died, including a Ventura County Sheriffs Department sergeant, plus the gunman. (OnScene.TV)

Jason Coffman displays a photo of his son Cody outside the Thousands Oaks Teen Center where he came hoping to find his son who was at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 8, 2018. – Twelve people, including a police sergeant, were shot dead in a shooting at the bar close to Los Angeles, police said Thursday. All the victims were killed inside the bar in the suburb of Thousand Oaks late on November 7, including the officer who had been called to the scene, Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters. The gunman was also dead at the scene, Dean added. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

Firefighters, law enforcement and members of the public watch as the hearse carrying the body of Ventura County Sheriff’s Sergeant Ron Helus, the first victim named in the mass shooting at a country bar in Thousand Oaks, California, in transported in a procession November 8, 2018. – The gunman who killed 12 people in a crowded California country music bar has been identified as 28-year-old Ian David Long, a former Marine, the local sheriff said Thursday. The suspect, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun, was found deceased at the Borderline Bar and Grill, the scene of the shooting in the city of Thousand Oaks northwest of downtown Los Angeles. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

An FBI agent talks to a potential witness as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Police escort people outside the Borderline Bar and Grill, where a mass shooting occurred on November 8, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California. At least twelve people have died, including a Ventura County Sheriffs Department sergeant, plus the gunman. (OnScene.TV)

In this image made from aerial video, police move through the vicinity of a shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, early Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Authorities say there were multiple injuries – including one officer – after a man opened fire in Southern California bar late Wednesday. (KABC via AP)

Police secure the Borderline Bar and Grill, where a mass shooting occurred on November 8, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California. At least twelve people have died, including a Ventura County Sheriffs Department sergeant, plus the gunman. (OnScene.TV)

In this image made from aerial video, police vehicles line a road in the vicinity of a shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, early Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Authorities say there were multiple injuries _ including one officer _ after a man opened fire in Southern California bar late Wednesday. (KABC via AP)

An FBI agent talks to a potential witness as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

This image made from aerial video show officers around a Police SUV in the vicinity of a shooting in Thousand Oaks, California, early Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018. Authorities say there were multiple injuries – including one officer – after a man opened fire in Southern California bar late Wednesday. (KABC via AP)

Jason Coffman (C) speaks to the press as he searches for his son Cody who was at the Borderline Bar and Grill, in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 8, 2018. – Twelve people, including a police sergeant, were shot dead in a shooting at the bar close to Los Angeles, police said Thursday. All the victims were killed inside the bar in the suburb of Thousand Oaks late on November 7, including the officer who had been called to the scene, Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters. The gunman was also dead at the scene, Dean added. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

People walk away from the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identifies Ian Long at the shooter at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA. 13 people including a sheriff deputy and the shooter were killed in a mass shooting at the bar overnight. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identifies Ian Long at the shooter at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA. 13 people including a sheriff deputy and the shooter were killed in a mass shooting at the bar overnight. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean identifies Ian Long at the shooter at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA. 13 people including a sheriff deputy and the shooter were killed in a mass shooting at the bar overnight. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Local resident Sarah Silikula breaks down near the scene outside of the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA where 13 people including a sheriff deputy and the shooter were killed in a mass shooting late Wednesday night. Silikula’s daughter had a friend who was at the bar at the time of the shooting, Silikula’s daughter decided not to go. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Google image of home in 800 block of Fowler Ave in Newbury Park.

A forensics team works the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A forensics team gets ready work the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

A forensics team works the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

FBI agents work the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

In this image taken from video a victim is carried from the scene of a shooting, Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. (RMG News via AP)

A forensics team works the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Police officers stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

In this image taken from video police officers and FBI agents run at the scene of a shooting, early Thursday morning, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. (RMG News via AP)

An FBI agent works the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

In this image taken from video a victim is treated near the scene of a shooting, Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. (RMG News via AP)

In this image taken from video a victim is treated near the scene of a shooting, Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. (RMG News via AP)

In this image taken from video a victim is treated near the scene of a shooting, Wednesday evening, Nov. 7, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. A hooded gunman dressed entirely in black opened fire on a crowd at a country dance bar holding a weekly “college night” in Southern California, killing multiple people and sending hundreds fleeing including some who used barstools to break windows and escape, authorities said Thursday. The gunman was later found dead at the scene. (RMG News via AP)

Sheriff’s deputies speak to a potential witnesses as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Sheriff’s deputy speaks to a potential witness as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Sheriff’s deputies speak to a potential witness as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

People comfort each other as they stand near the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

People walk away from the scene Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. where a gunman opened fire Wednesday inside a country dance bar crowded with hundreds of people on “college night,” wounding 11 people including a deputy who rushed to the scene. Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman says gunman is dead inside the bar. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The dead included 11 people inside the bar, the gunman and a sheriff’s sergeant who was the first officer inside the door, Sheriff Dean said.

“It’s a horrific scene in there,” Dean said at a news conference early Thursday in the parking lot of the bar. “There’s blood everywhere.”

At least 23 people were injured in the incident and have sought treatment at various hospitals in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Most suffered minor injuries, Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Brian McGrath told CBS2.

The sheriff said Sgt. Ron Helus undoubtedly saved lives by going in to confront the gunman.

Ventura County officer Sgt. Ron Helus.

Dean says Helus was his longtime friend and gym partner and planned to retire soon after 29 years with the force. He leaves a wife and son.

The sheriff says he told Helus’ wife “he died a hero because he went in to save lives.”

At 10 a.m. a procession of law enforcement and first responders will escort Sgt. Helus’ body from the Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office in Ventura, according to Capt. Garo Kuredjian.

The gunman was tall and wearing all black with a hood over his head and his face partly covered, witnesses told TV stations at the scene. He first fired on a person working the door then appeared to open fire at random at the people inside, they said.

Many more people had more minor injuries, including some that came from the attempt to flee, Dean said.

Sgt. Helus and a passing highway patrolman were responding to several 911 calls when they arrived at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks at about 11:20 p.m., the sheriff said. They heard gunfire and went inside.

Helus was immediately hit with multiple gunshots, Dean said. The highway patrolman cleared the perimeter and pulled Helus out, and waited as a SWAT team and scores more officers arrived.

By the time they entered the bar again, the gunfire had stopped, and they found 12 people dead inside, including the gunman.

Video accessed by The Associated Press shows gripping images at the scene.

Several rounds of gunfire can be heard as a terrified witness runs out of the Borderline Bar & Grill.

Police cars are seen arriving and an armed officer takes up position outside the bar. Three men rush out carrying a bloodied fourth individual. They try and stem the bleeding of what appears to be a gunshot wound.

It’s not yet clear how the gunman died, and authorities do not yet know his name or have any idea of a motive, Sheriff Dean said.

It was college night and country two-step lessons were being offered Wednesday at the Borderline, according to its website.

When the gunman entered, people screamed and fled to all corners of the bar, while a few people threw barstools through the windows and helped dozens to escape, witnesses said.

Tayler Whitler, 19, said she was on the dance floor with her friends nearby when she saw the gunman shooting and heard screams to “get down.”

“It was really, really really shocking,” Whitler told KABC-TV as she stood with her father in the Borderline parking lot. “It looked like he knew what he was doing.”

Shootings of any kind are very rare in Thousand Oaks, a city of about 130,000 people about 40 miles west of Los Angeles, just across the county line.

Helus was a 29-year veteran of the force with a wife and son and planned to retire in the coming year, said the sheriff, who choked back tears several times as he talked about the sergeant who was also his longtime friend.

“Ron was a hardworking, dedicated sheriff’s sergeant who was totally committed,” Dean said, “and tonight, as I told his wife, he died a hero because he went in to save lives.”

President Donald Trump is offering condolences in the wake of the mass shooting.

Trump said on Twitter Thursday that he has been “fully briefed on the terrible shooting.” He praised law enforcement, saying “Great bravery shown by police” and said “God bless all of the victims and families of the victims.”

I have been fully briefed on the terrible shooting in California. Law Enforcement and First Responders, together with the FBI, are on scene. 13 people, at this time, have been reported dead. Likewise, the shooter is dead, along with the first police officer to enter the bar….

….Great bravery shown by police. California Highway Patrol was on scene within 3 minutes, with first officer to enter shot numerous times. That Sheriff’s Sergeant died in the hospital. God bless all of the victims and families of the victims. Thank you to Law Enforcement.

Trump ordered the flag be flown at half-staff until sunset Saturday at the White House and on all public buildings, military posts, naval stations and aboard all U.S. naval vessels.

He also directed the flag to be flown at half-staff at all U.S. embassies and military bases and naval stations abroad.

The bar’s website says its hosts “College Country Night” every Wednesday. Witnesses said many of those inside were college students.

A survivor of the shooting says the gunman was wearing a black hoodie and holding a handgun as he opened fire.

Cole Knapp is a freshman at Moorpark College and was inside the Borderline Bar & Grill when the shooting began.

He says he tried to get as many people to cover as he could. He says he fled through an exit door to a closed patio where he told people “everybody get over the fence as quickly as you can,” and followed them over.

Then he says he found a highway patrol officer nearby who just happened to pull someone over, and he screamed to him, “there’s a shooter in there!”

Knapp says the officer “was kind of in disbelief,” then saw he was serious. He says he has friends who haven’t been accounted for.

Nineteen-year-old Erika Sigman found herself hiding with a group of strangers, and they were holding her hands.

She says “there is a lot of bad in this world, but there is also a lot of good and people will help.”

California Lutheran University, which is a short drive from the bar, has canceled classes following the shooting. Some of the college’s students were at the bar when the shooter opened fire.

The Cal Lutheran website says the university community is invited to gather Thursday at the school’s chapel.

Cal Lutheran has more than 3,000 undergraduate students and more than 1,300 graduate students.

Cal Lutheran student body president Nick Steinwender told KTLA-TV he and his roommate went to the scene to offer rides back to campus and moral support and there were already other students from the university there.

Steinwender says “it just feels like it’s an attack on our community.”

Pepperdine officials said several students from the university were in the bar, and they’re working to identify and provide those students support, according to a statement from the Malibu-based university. It was unclear if any of those killed or wounded were students at the school.

The university said it was in contact with appropriate governmental agencies and would provide updates as information became available.

Classes at the school will take place as scheduled Thursday, but students were encouraged to adjust their schedules if they were affected by the shooting, according to a statement from the school. A prayer service for the campus community is scheduled at noon Thursday in the Smothers Theatre.

The bloodshed was the latest in what seems to be a never-ending string of deadly mass shootings that are happening with terrifying frequency across the United States.

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